


After Dawn

by writingstarsinthesky



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: And Josh isn't abandoned, Background Chris/Ashley - Freeform, Everybody Lives Ending, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 11:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4834034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingstarsinthesky/pseuds/writingstarsinthesky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is always healing to be done</p>
            </blockquote>





	After Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> I might do more with this universe, but idk how much more. Also, the SamJosh in this is mostly implied but it's definitely intended. Enjoy!

Hospitals gave Sam the creeps, in all honesty. She hadn’t been back to one since they had been recovered from the police station. This wasn’t her first choice of a saturday afternoon, but this was important.

“He wants to talk to you.” Chris had said, looking down at his sweating soda. “Josh really misses you.”

* * *

 

Of course he did. Of course he did, what did Sam expect? He had reached out to her first after his sister’s died, and she had responded with all the warmth her own heart could muster. She thought they had a connection.

Evidently, it wasn’t enough of one for him not to involve her in his insane prank.

She should have told him to fuck off. In theory, that’s what she was here to do, tell him to fuck off and to never contact her again, you creep. That’s what she was supposed to do. 

She fiddles with a hole in her jeans, looking around anxiously. The white room is supposed to be comforting, a relaxing place for visitors to talk, but the stark emptiness was starting to claw at her, make her swallow thickly around the nervous lump in her throat. Birds sing outside the wide window, and she’s seized by an urge to leap through it to freedom.

The sound of a door opening makes her jump, and the young orderly that had smiled at her in the waiting room walks Josh to the chair across from her. 

Jesus, he looks thin. His pajamas are white, like the walls, and his socks are oddly pristine, like he doesn’t wear them much or they’re new.  _He doesn’t like wearing socks without shoes_ , she suddenly remembers, suppressing a smile as she remembers Hannah teasing her brother about wiggling his toes free as soon as he could when the four of them would return from a hike, or shopping, or just lunch.

His eyes look bloodshot, but she can’t deny he looks better than he did on that mountain. Even with the paper surgical mask covering his nose and mouth. His eyes crinkle at the corners when he sits, unable to contain his smile for a moment longer.

She can’t help it; Sam smiles back at him.

“I’m, uh, I’m glad you came.” Josh says, and she can hear the smile in his voice even if she can’t see it. “Chris said you might not, m-might not be too pleased to see me.”

This was it, right? Come on, Sam, tell him off. Scream at him. 

“I’m... I’m really so fucking sorry, Sam. I shouldn’t’ve... Sh-Shouldn’t have gone off my meds in the first place, I would’ve never... Dr. Hill told me it was a bad idea, and none of you... I’m so fucked in the head, Sam. I didn’t mean to h-hurt anybody. You, least of all. I always... Y-you were always the best, Sam. You didn’t want them to get hurt...”

He stammers more than usual. Fear still sticks close to his side, cold and damp like the mines, but there are tears in his eyes, real tears, and Sam melts. His skin is warm when she leans in, letting her slim fingers brush his cheek as she brushes away the tears oozing from his eyes.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright.” She says softly. “Don’t cry, Josh. I’m here. I’m here. I forgive you.” Her thumb traces his cheek as he’s gone rigid, staring at her with those big brown eyes.

It’s not what she’d thought she’d say, but it was the most natural thing in the world after she did. It was the Wendigos in her nightmares, not Josh. Not Josh, in his overalls and mask with his weird, crooked grin laughing as he revealed the ruse. The Wendigos.

He sniffs, wiping his eyes. “You really are a Wonder Woman, Sam. I dunno h-how you’re not bashing my brains out...” He offers her another unseen smile, and again she returns it.

It’s easy to talk then, Josh laughing when he smells Sam’s perfume- “Hannah wore it m-more than you, I thought you g-gave it to her at one point”- and Sam fills him in on the outside world. How Chris and Ashley were still going strong, going to the same college for different majors and still managing to be the grossest couple of the century, how Emily and Matt had taken a break to work out their own issues (Emily wanted to stay together, but Matt had asked her seriously to quit with Mike and they needed time to work on trust), Mike and Jessica had broken up but were still fast friends, Mike threatening to beat up any boy that made Jessica feel like less than perfect, and how she would always laugh and hit his chest when he did, Sam going to college to study Biology and Ecology, and had started her own mountain climbing club.

She leaves out the parts about Mike rubbing the stubs where his fingers used to be when he was stressed, how Jessica was still in therapy from the trauma she had undergone. How they last time they had gotten together no one could quite shake the desire to leave every light on the house on, how every little noise made them jump. How she didn’t take baths anymore, only quick showers to rapidly scrub herself clean, checking every surface and still able to feel his eyes on her.

He tells her about life in the hospital, and she has to admit it sounds like a good fit for him. His orderlies treated him well, and he could roam as long as he had an escort. No one treated him like a burden, and he got to see Dr. Hill weekly. He was back on his meds, and he was allowed to see his parents, have some of his things in his room. He even ate in private, but when she asks him why he looks down, rubbing his face through the mask. 

She doesn’t press.

“Nobody really blames you.” She says softly, watching as he plays with the rings on her fingers. They were new, gifts from her hysterical mother who was just glad to have her daughter back. “Not even Mike. Ashley is still on the fence, but Chris is working on her.” 

Josh looks at her, then lowers his eyes. “You sh-shouldn’t forgive me.” He mumbles. “I wouldn’t.”

Sam smiles slightly, squeezing his fingers. “Then it’s a good thing I like you a lot more than you like yourself, huh jackass.”

Josh smiles again, and he squeezes her hand. “You’re the b-best, samalama.” He says, grinning and holding up his hand. 

She grins herself, tapping their palms together. High five.

The orderly opens the door again, clearing his throat. “I’m sorry, guys, but visiting hours are over. Josh has to go back to his room.”

Sam blinks in surprise, and it suddenly registers that they’ve been talking for hours. Josh looks almost scared, giving her hand a quick squeeze. “W-Will you come back? A-And maybe bring Mike, I gotta, I wanna...”

Sam squeezes back, looking at Josh. Was it even a question? Would she? What choice would she make?

She smiles. “I’ll come back. I’m not leaving you alone here, Josh.” She says softly.


End file.
